Fig, Orange & Polenta Cake.
A moist, fragrant cake with jammy figs, orange slices and a drizzle of honey–orange syrup. Best enjoyed in generous slices with yoghurt or mascarpone.
I created this recipe for when we have a glut of figs from our fig tree! I find our figs here in the UK can be a little watery and not especially sweet, so I roast them first to bring out their natural sweetness and prevent the cake from becoming too wet. (Halved, sprinkled with sugar, 40mins at 200c. However, if you live somewhere where the figs are lovely and sweet (or you manage to find some good ones in the supermarket!) then you can skip this step and use them fresh.
Ingredients.
8-10 roasted/fresh figs, halved (see notes above)
100g instant/quick-cook polenta
100g self-raising flour
75g ground almonds, or almond flour
3/4 tsp ground cardamom
2 oranges, zest & 2 slices only
180g caster sugar
3 eggs
120ml olive oil, plus extra for greasing
Pinch of salt
Honey & Orange Syrup:
Juice from the 2 oranges
2-3 tbsp runny honey
Equipment.
small saucepan
freestanding mixer or handheld whisk
20cm springform/square baking tin
fine grater/zester
baking/parchment paper
Method.
Preheat the oven to 160°C (fan). Grease a 20cm square/springform tin with a little olive oil and line with baking parchment.
Mix the dry ingredients. In a bowl, combine the polenta, flour, almonds, cardamom and a pinch of salt.
Whisk the eggs. In a separate large bowl, add the orange zest, sugar and eggs. Whisk for at least 5 minutes until pale, foamy and doubled in volume. A stand mixer or electric whisk makes this easier.
Add the oil. With the whisk still running, slowly stream in the olive oil until fully incorporated. Stop whisking as soon as it’s blended to avoid splitting.
Meanwhile, prepare the fruit. From the centre of one orange, take 2 thin slices (2-3mm thick) and lay, overlapping, in the bottom of the lined tin. Halve the figs and arrange them, cut side down, on top of the orange and so they’re covering the whole base of the tin.
Fold the batter. Tip the polenta mixture into the eggs and gently fold with a spatula until no dry patches remain.
Bake. Scrape the batter into the tin, smooth the top, and bake for about 35-40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Meanwhile, make the syrup. While the cake is baking, juice both the oranges and gently heat the juice and honey in a small pan for 3–5 minutes until slightly reduced.
Pour over the syrup. Once baked, prick the surface all over with a skewer and spoon the warm syrup evenly across. Leave to cool in the tin.
Turn out. When completely cool, flip the cake out so the figs are on top. Cut into slices and serve with Greek yoghurt or mascarpone.
